Soccer Store - "Soccer Town, USA"

My name is Carlos Perez and I am a 10th grader at Dalton High School. In the small town of Dalton, GA, there is not much activity that makes the town stand out besides being the "Carpet Capital of the World". To some people, that seems fascinating, but in reality, carpet is not exciting at all. However, this town has recently gotten national attention because of the high school soccer teams around the county. In fact, Dalton is now dubbed "Soccer Town, USA".

Throughout the years, Dalton High School and other high schools around Whitfield County, such as Southeast High School and Coahulla Creek High School, have shown their talent in the sport of soccer by having very successful seasons over the past few years. For instance, Dalton High School has 6 state titles and has been ranked in the top 10 high school soccer teams in the country for the past 4 seasons. This just shows how much young talent there is in this area. Because of this, the Dalton area has gained national attention, with the New York Times writing an article about this town and its successful soccer history.

As soccer continues to grow as a sport in this area, so does the demand for high-quality equipment needed to train and play soccer. Most of this higher quality equipment can't be acquired at local stores. Instead, these things need to be ordered online, which can become time-consuming and overall more expensive. That is why I came up with the idea to open up a store dedicated to these excellent high school soccer teams that will sell items needed by these soccer players. This will include items such as cleats, jerseys, cones, drill equipment, and other things necessary to train effectively. Coming from a family that loves soccer, I have learned that not all equipment is good for soccer players, especially state champs. For example, most high school soccer players acquire their high-performance cleats from online stores because they are not sold at any stores around town. Making these cleats available for them will save much more time and will overall be easier for them to get what they need to be successful in playing soccer.

Additionally, the location of the store can also be used as a "hangout" area for the soccer teams when they just want to spend some time together. This will bring the schools much closer together because allowing the soccer players to bond with each other will allow for greater relationships between all schools. This just shows how important the sport of soccer is in the Dalton area.

Lastly, using the shipping containers will help reduce waste by recycling and using them to build the store. It will also allow the store to be later repurposed if needed because the containers can be easily disassembled. Furthermore, this store will be very beneficial to the community and the profits made from selling the equipment can even go back to these amazing soccer teams.

To build this store, you will need the base of the whole structure, which are two shipping containers.

You will also need cement for the wall that will hold the shipping container at the top. The cement will also be used to make the stairs.

A metal rail will be needed for the stairs.

Wood will also be needed for most of the furniture used.

The items included in this store are chairs, tables, wall shelves, a bookshelf, small stools, ceiling fans, window frames, a TV, and vending machines.

You will need two 20' long x 8' wide x 9'6” high volumetric shipping containers. You will also need a cement wall that is approximately 30 inches long and the same height and width as the containers.

Once you have all of that, you will place the first shipping container on the surface, with the longest part facing the customers.

Next, you will bring the second container to the top and position it in the opposite direction as the bottom one. In other words, the longest part of the container will face left and right. The edge of the container at the top should align with the edge of the bottom container.

Once you have this in place, you will finally add the cement wall on the bottom edge of the top container, furthest from the bottom container. This should align with the top container and will hold the structure in place.

Once you have all the shipping containers in place, you will now need to cut out openings for the customers to enter through, as well as for the windows.

First, on the bottom shipping container, you will cut out about 2/3 of the whole side. This will leave enough space for customers to enter and shop without it being too crowded. In the rest of the 1/3 of the same side, you will cut out a square for the window to allow for more ventilation. You will then add a window frame of the same size as the square.

Secondly, you're going to add a small ramp that goes up to the floor of the bottom container. This is needed because the ground is slightly below, and the floor of the container is elevated. The small walking ramp will stop anyone from tripping over the entrance.

Finally, on the top container, you will cut out a rectangle from the top to the bottom of the container. This will be used as the door that is used for the stairs. You will also cut out a square on the backside for better ventilation in the store, as mentioned earlier. You will also add a window frame here.

After you have the base layout of the store, you will then start adding the outside furniture and the stairs as well.

On the surface floor, you will need 3 32-inch tables with four wooden chairs in each. These tables will be spaced out on the surface floor so the customers and soccer players can relax and enjoy themselves, as well as bond with the other soccer teams.

You will also need 2 vending machines so the customers can get light snacks and drinks. One vending machine will be for snacks and the other vending machine will have drinks and other beverages. You can place them on the far left side of the bottom container on the outside.

To get to the top floor of the store, you will need to build stairs. For this, you will need a metal railing that is approximately 1-inch wide. This railing will go from the bottom of the stairs to the top. It will also be used outside the entrance at the top of the stairs to make it more secure for customers. The stairs will be made out of cement and will go to the top container. Before entering, there will be a small space after the stairs to allow for smoother movement in and out of the top part of the store. This part will also be made out of cement.

Once all of the exterior parts of the store are complete, you will then need to fill in the interior of the containers with supplies needed to store and sell the items and equipment.

First, you will add the wall shelves on the back and sides of the container. These shelves will be used to display items for sale, such as soccer balls and cleats. These wall shelves vary in size, ranging from 20 to 60 inches long. This will depend on how you want to display the items.

Then, you will add a bookshelf that will serve as a counter where registers will be located. The shelf will also be used to display items for sale.

After, small stools will be needed to be placed in the corner. These stools are necessary so customers can sit down while trying on cleats.

A ceiling fan will also need to be added on the top in case there are days when it is very hot outside. This will help with air conditioning in the store, making the container feel cooler.

Finally, a TV can be added so soccer enthusiasts can watch live soccer matches while shopping in the store.

The top container is very similar to the bottom container because they both have similar furniture.

You will first add wall shelves on both the longest sides of the container. These shelves will be much longer than the ones on the bottom container because they will display even more items. A shelf will also be added on the far back end of the container.

Another small stool will be added near the end of the container so customers can try on cleats, as mentioned before.

Two ceiling fans will be added to the top container. This is due to the fact that there is more chance of it getting hot at the top. The fans will make the room feel cooler.

After the building portion of the store is complete, all that is left is painting the containers and items inside of them, as well as adding the store sign and name.

The color scheme of the store is Red/White/Black. This is referring to the colors of Dalton High School. Although this store is for all customers, including other high school soccer teams, Dalton High School is the center of soccer talent in the Dalton area and the store should be revolved around the school.

The tables, chairs, wall shelves, window frames, ceiling fans, a small stool, and the cement wall will be the color white.

The top container, the bookshelf, the other small stool at the bottom, and the stairs will be the color red.

The bottom container will be the color black.

Lastly, the name of the store "Soccer Town, USA" will be the color black and will be located on the front side of the cement wall. The Dalton High School logo will also be located on the front side of the wall.

Furthermore, the process of building and designing this store is very simple so that if needed, this building could be repurposed later.